The History of Candles

Written by: Anna Pafenberg

Before Thomas Edison invented the lightbulb in the Gilded Era, humans had to rely on candle light to see during the night time. Many lanterns and fireplaces gave light, but candles, first used over 5000 years ago in ancient Egypt and Rome, paved the way for people to see in the dark. Evidence supporting that the Egyptians were one of the first to develop candles came from a clay candle holder that was found. Their candles were very different from us though. Plants called rush were used in the candles as a wick to be burnt.

While Egyptians are first credited for the candle, Romans experimented with dipping papyrus in tallow or wax and then lighting it. A candle! Fire however, was discovered over a million years ago, and intentionally started using it 300-400 thousand years ago in Israel. In Asia such as places like China and Japan, similar wax methods were used to make candles. In China, candles were made in paper tubes. In Japan, candles were made of wax found in nuts. Europeans utilized tallow from animals for their wax. In the middle ages, beeswax was first introduced to Europe. The Europeans soon realized that it burned cleaner and with less smoke than animal fat. Oil lamps were also very popular. Typically olive oil was placed inside with a piece of cloth to burn. Many oil lamps were used in Roman forums, religious practices, and other aspects of life. Candles in religion can be seen in the Jewish Menorah and they are sometimes mentioned in the Christian bible. In colonial America, women utilized wax from berries, but it was hard to extract it from them. Soon, by the 1800’s, whale tallow was the most used kind of wax.

The process of whaling had many harmful impacts for the environment because sperm whale oil had to be crystalized. In the 1850’s Paraffin wax was brought to popularity. Paraffin burned cleanly similar to beeswax, and it was a part of petroleum that had been separated and refined.

Due to the invention of the lightbulb, candles sort of lost popularity. However, because the oil and production business was booming during the Gilded Age, a lot of oil byproduct was useful in making candles. In the 90’s, soybean wax was developed and gained popularity. It burned a lot slower, and became popular in the United States. 

All in all, candles are significant not just for light, but for all aspects of life. Romance, emotion, religion, and entertainment require light for different reasons. Even though electricity took over, people all over the world see candles as a key part of daily life.